Top 10 Migration Issues of 2013

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Top 10 Migration Issues of 2013

The year 2013 was one full of developments—policy-oriented and otherwise—on the immigration front: from Europe wrestling with migration management challenges thrown into relief after a deadly shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa to the ever-widening Syrian humanitarian crisis and the United States seemingly on the cusp of enacting landmark reform only for the year to draw to a close without action. In the Migration Information Source's annual Top 10 migration developments of the year, we've invited Migration Policy Institute researchers to examine key issues of 2013.

International migration flows are becoming increasingly diverse—not just in origins, but also in the composition of labor migration flows and the destinations to which migrants are heading. This article leads off the Migration Information Source's annual Top 10 Migration Issues of the Year.

Recognizing their new positions in the global mobility system, several governments from countries with emerging economies are implementing structures to proactively manage the flow of people across their borders.

Countries looking to infuse their economies with an additional cash flow are embracing immigrant investor programs — selling permanent residence or even citizenship to individuals willing to invest a significant sum in their economy.

With more than 2.2 million Syrians who have already sought refuge abroad and more than 4 million others displaced internally, the challenges that the international community are facing from the Syrian humanitarian crisis continue to mount.

A number of interlocking concerns have emerged in recent months regarding the rights of mobile EU citizens, fueled in part by euroskeptic parties (such as the UK Independence Party), and more hard-line anti-immigration parties such as the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands.

As immigrant-destination countries emerge from the economic crisis at varying speeds, ensuring that the national labor force has the skills needed to fuel recovery has been high on the policy agenda. Migration has long been part of countries' skills strategies, but weak economies have created an additional impetus to maximize the economic benefits that skilled immigration can provide.

2013 proved a year of significant highs and lows in the quest to reform the U.S. immigration system, with enough political and legislative twists to keep even veteran observers of Congress guessing and leave politicians and pundits confused about the prospects for enacting reform in 2014.

This year has seen greater focus by policymakers in countries around the world on the balance between two enduring, complex migration management imperatives: maintaining secure and credible borders while separating out unauthorized immigrants from the most vulnerable populations in need of humanitarian protection, particularly those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution.

The murder of an anti-fascist rapper in 2013 dealt a severe blow to Greece's extremist, virulently anti-immigrant political party Golden Dawn, whose popularity had been increasing (relatively unchecked) since 2010. The party, which rejects the neo-Nazi label that many have applied to it, provoked a national outcry in September after a party sympathizer confessed to killing Pavlos Fyssas.

Qatar's dependence on foreign workers is expected to intensify over the coming decade as it steps up its preparations to host the World Cup in 2022. Migrant workers already dominate Qatar's labor force, comprising 94 percent of all workers and 86 percent of the country's total population of nearly 2 million — the world's highest ratio of migrants to citizens.

Resources

In the Spotlight

Every year, the Migration Information Source compiles the Top 10 Migration Issues of the Year, assessing key developments globally regarding immigration developments, policies, and trends. Visit our Top 10 Library today to check out the top migration developments of the year from 2005 onward.

Use this interactive data tool to view total annual asylum applications in individual European Union Member States and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and by top nationalities of origin, by year from 2008 to 2015. The data tool also shows individual countries' share of asylum applications per capita and as a share of the EU/EFTA total.

Want the latest facts and data on immigrants in the United States? Search U.S. Census data on U.S. immigrants and the native born nationally and by state based on demographic, language and education, workforce, and income indicators.

MPI's Data Hub

The Data Hub showcases the most current national and state-level demographic, social, and economic facts about immigrants to the U.S.; as well as stock, flow, citizenship, net migration, and historical data for countries in Europe, North America, and beyond.

The Migration Information Source has published a series of special issues that focus on particular migration trends of note, among them "Migration in the Modern Chinese World," "Women and Migration," and a special issue on migration and development. Check out our Special Issue Library.